ZHU – Nightday EP

Between 4/20, Coachella, and any other holiday weekend festivities, you might have missed the highly anticipated release of the mysterious producer, Zhu’s freshman EP. This EP is ultra-satisfying not only for its content, but also because it marks the end of our suspense in seeing what this Zhu guy is all about. However, as far as who this Zhu guy actually is, well, we’ll get there.

In case you haven’t been following the steady rise of this artist, let me catch you up to speed. Back in February, music bloggers across the country (including FNT!) received emails from an anonymous source with the attachment later to be identified as Zhu’s first single, “Moves Like Ms. Jackson.” Following that, another even more addicting, and this time original track, “Superfriends” took the internet by storm. But it wasn’t long before fans made use of their Internet skills and uncovered the artist as Los Angeles based Stephen Zhu of No Ego Records. What was even more remarkable then the fine detective work provided by Joel McRae via Do Androids Dance was the evidence that Zhu had planted the seed for this EP and all its branding quite some time ago. And still, leading up to the release and even today, there remains an air of intrigue as to who the man behind the smoke is.

As for the music, it without a doubt lives up to the hype. Zhu has really established his own distinct sound: dark, seductive, bass heavy and overall sexy. The tracks released prior to the EP, like “Faded” and “Paradise Awaits” are among some of the more stand out ones, while “Stay Close” and “The One” offer a more subdued, deep house // UK garage feel.

Now that we can finally enjoy this artist’s work as a whole, I’m dying to know what his next move is. No doubt it’s been carefully calculated so he’ll leaving us hanging by a thread until the time is right. Until then, stream “Nightday” in full via Zhu’s website here or cop it from iTunes and test it out by driving fast on empty freeways late at night with a Russian model in your passenger seat and your hand on her thigh. Or something devious like that.